Jules louis moeet



UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

JULES LOUIS MORET, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

COMPOSITION FOR DEPILATING HlDES.

srnorrronrron forming part of Letters Patent No. 281,287, dated July 17,1883. Application filed January 19, 1883. (No specimens.) Patented inEngland May 10, 1882, No. 52,213.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, Jonas LOUIS Months, of

Paris, France, have invented a new Composition for Preserving andUnhairing Hides and Skins; and I do hereby declarethat thefollowing is afull, clear, and exact description of the same, and that I have receivedLetters Patent of England for fourteen years for said invention, whichbear date May 10, 1882, No. 2,213.

This invention relates to a composition for enabling hides and skins tobe preserved for transport or storage in such condition that while thehair remains firm until it is desired to remove it the hides and skinsmay be immediately unh aired at any subsequent time by a simple steepingin water-that is to sa they are impregnated with the depilat my agentand with a suitable preservative, so that while pro-.

tected by the latter from dry-cracking or putrefaction and from theattacks of insects, the former, being already contained in the pores ofthe skin or hide, is brought into such intimate contact with the hairfollicles or glandsas to act with immediate effect thereon as soon asthe hide or skin is plunged into water, loosening the hair and enablingit to be removed with case.

To prepare the composition for this purpose I first make a strongsolution of American pot ash, or ordinary caustic potash, and heat tofrom about 180 to 200 Fahrenheit. Ithen add (stirring the compositionwell meanwhile) realgar in powder in the proportion of about two ouncesto three and a half ounces for each pound of potash employed. I may alsoadd quicklime in the proportion of three ounces, five ounces, or sevenounces for each pound of potash, the precise proportions in each casedepending on the kind of potash used and on the manner in which thecomposition is to be applied or used. The quicklime may, however, bedispensed with altogether when the potash is sufliciently causticwithout it, the

quicklime being only used when and in such quantities as it may beabsolutely required to efi'ect this object. The composition is allowedto settle and the clea liquor decanted ofi'. This clear liquor isdiluted with water to be applied, either with a brush or mop, to

the hide or skin, or by immersion, the hides or skins being either leftin this state or dried, according as they are to be kept a greater orless length of time. In the dry state they may be kept for an indefiniteperiod, and may be at any subsequent time restored to their originalgreen and natural condition by simply steeping them for about twelvehours in water, whereupon the hair and send may be immediately removedwith case without further treatment with chemical agents.

This mode of preservation forms an admirable substitute for the saltingtreatment generally used for preserving hides, and renders unnecessarythe injurious liming or other treatment for unhairing. The quality ofthe leather obtained from hides thus preserved by my improved processwill be found to be superior to that of hides treated in the ordinaryway.

I do not here claim depilating hides by sulphide of arsenic, eitheralone or dissolved in a solution of potash.

I claim- The herein-described composition for impregnating hides andskins and preserving them in such condition as to be capable of beingunhaired at any subsequent time by asimple immersion in water, suchcomposition be ing composed ofa solution of caustic potash JULES LOUISMQRET.

\Vitnesses:

R0131. M. HoorEE, J BAN Bnrrrsrn Romano.

